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Every year, as soon as the weather starts to warm up I develop an immediate attraction to the color orange. Luckily for me, this styled shoot from Salt Creative Co. and Michael and Kate Photography is chock full of heavenly orange tones, from the tulips to the kumquats used as cake decor.

From the event designer, Evoke Event Design and Coordination: The idea for this shoot was born over coffee with Michael and Kate Auda of Michael and Kate Photography. We wanted to create something a natural yet still elegant with pops of color. They suggested Lake Hodges in Northern San Diego County as a location. It has such a wild Californian beauty to it. When we visited the site and saw the beautiful stand of eucalyptus trees, we knew the soft grayed green would be our color jumping off point. I have always wanted to do something inspired by California poppies, so orange was an easy second choice. The idea of using copper as a metal accent blended better with the orange accents then silver or gold would.

Once we had our inspiration I got to work on planning the table décor. I searched local antique stores for the green glass plates and mismatched clear etched glasses. I used oil paint pen to draw patterns on the plain linen napkins, making each one unique. Riffing on the idea of personal salt cellars I found these cute white spoons at Sur La Table and filled them with Hawaiian Alaea salt. To make the table numbers I used a stencil to cut the number from thin copper sheeting and then crumpled it to make it look more rustic. The amazing farm table is from Farm Tables and More who hand build all of their furniture rentals. The cross back bistro chairs add more of that elegant yet relaxed mood to the table.

All of the flowers came from the LA Flower Mart. Huge bunches of fresh kumquats were the base for the table flower box mixed with dusty miller, white ranunculus, orange tulips, and large baby’s breath. For the bouquet I wanted something large and free using the white ranunculus, orange tulips, eucalyptus, and large baby’s breath. The boutonniere was made from a single orange tulip and dusty miller leaf wrapped in copper.

For a ceremony location that is so natural and wild, bringing in décor that is too perfect sometimes stands out too much. The single hanging grapevine wreath with flower accents is the perfect frame for the bride and groom while also being cost effective (wreath and flowers together cost about $35!), natural and elegant. A burlap aisle runner painted with white flowers leads the way along simple wooden benches. For the cake, we were all in agreement that a naked cake would fit our theme the best. Kumquats were in season in April and they were the perfect accent to the beautiful cake made by Kate the photographer! Kate met the gals from Sable and Snow at an industry mixer, and when I saw their Vintage Garden invitation suite I knew it would be perfect. They customized the color scheme to match the shoot and added their fun and stylish hand lettering to the envelopes. The welcome bag was created with the color scheme in mind and includes local San Diego beer with yummy treats. It would be a perfect way to welcome out of town guests to a relaxing and fun wedding weekend.

The bride was styled to exude the vibe of the shoot. The leather belt and necklace add fun personal touches to her soft lace dress. The groom has a formal grey suit, but when the jacket comes off, the bow tie and suspenders signal that it’s time to let loose! We had such a fun time creating the DIY details of this shoot to give it a natural and authentic feel with a relaxed Californian vibe. Truly every aspect of this shoot was DIY and something that any bride or groom could re-create on their own. We wanted to highlight wedding ideas that had visual impact while still being fairly easy to accomplish.